Lean Six Sigma

Reducing Missed Garbage PickupsDawn Ritchie, Solid Waste Manager

Project Description

Decrease missed garbage pickups by fifty percent

Problem Statement:

Objective:

Missed garbage pickups result in increased costs and dissatisfied customers

Benefits

• Improved Customer Service

• Potential Savings on Next Contract with Decreased Tonnage Rates

• Enhanced Relationship with Contractor, National Serv-all (NSA)

• Punctual Friday Pickups on New Contract

• Increased Confidence and Satisfaction with Service

• Potential Cost Savings on New Contract

• Improved Pickup Timeliness

Benefits to the City

• Improved Customer Service

• Decreased Costs

• Enhanced Relationship with the City

• Improved Driver Training

• Potential Productivity Improvement from Drivers/Collectors

Benefits to the NSA

Benefits to the Customer

Dawn Ritchie

Project Team

Matt Gratz, City Solid WasteAngela Lewis, NSABob Young, NSA Mike Welch, NSA

Ted Rhinehart

Black Belt:

Champion:

Team Members:

Definition and Costs of the Y

The costs of the Y include dissatisfaction and inconvenience for customers and increased costs in fuel and labor.

Y= Validated or Legitimate Missed Garbage Pickups

Y = f(x1,x2,x3,…,xk)

Costs of Y=

• Driver Training - doesn’t return to where he previously stopped

• Driver Experience

• Route Knowledge -miss entire street/alley

• Route Problems• alley on side load route• house in commercial area• customer has no access to the alley

Defect Theories

• Environmental Factors• ice/snow/weather• alley cave-in

• Obstacles• road or alley closed• alley overgrown with brush• car parked in front of garbage• garbage hidden by bush, fence, garage/bldg

Why Defects?

• Special assist pickup

• Behavior/attitude of driver– in a hurry– carelessness– goes home early without finishing route– grudge towards homeowner

Project Objectives

Prep for Work

Do Work

X’s

X’s Y’s

Staffing, equipment,fuel, maps, weather,traffic, construction, pit stops, injury, trash, obstacles, experience,training, helper, routeknowledge, routing, attitude, day of week, assist pickup, set outsite, length of route,mistake/error, time ofyear, accidents

cost of labor, cost of fuel, depreciationaccidents, arrival at route, employment,customer complaints calls, rerouting, good pickup, discipline, dissatisfaction, sanitation/health,corrective action, evaluation, termination

Process Chart

Rating of Importance to Customer

10 8 6 7 9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Process Step Process Inputs retr

ieve

d ga

rbag

epu

t ca

n ba

ck

put

lid b

ack

safe

ty

didn

't le

ave

a m

ess

Total

1 do work experience 9 9 9 9 9 360

2 do work training 9 9 9 9 9 3603 do work attitude 9 9 9 3 9 3184 do work equipment 9 3 3 9 9 2765 do work assist pickup 3 9 9 1 3 1906 do work obstacles 9 3 3 3 3 1807 do work temperature 3 3 3 3 3 1208 do work traffic 3 3 3 3 3 1209 do work construction 3 3 3 3 3 12010 do work weather 3 3 3 3 3 12011 do work mistake/error 3 3 3 3 3 12012 do work time of year 3 3 3 3 3 12013 do work route length 3 3 3 3 3 12014 do work illness/injury 3 1 1 3 3 9215 do work staffing 3 1 1 3 3 9216 do work alley/curb 1 3 3 1 3 8617 prep for work staffing 1 3 3 3 1 82

Cause and Effect Matrix

experience 9 9 9 9 9 360

training 9 9 9 9 9 360attitude 9 9 9 3 9 318equipment 9 3 3 9 9 276

Cause and Effect Matrix

Six Sigma Project:Improving Customer Service by Reducing Misses

Data Collection Sheet

Data on Garbage Miss (City of Fort Wayne misses only):

Name ______________________________ Phone number ___________________

Address ___________________________________________

Day of Collection: Mon Tues Wed Thur Fri (circle one)

Place of Collection: Alley or Curb (circle one)

Environmental Factors : Ice Snow Severe Weather Rainy Sunny Cloudy

High Temp/Humidity Other ____________________

N/A (circle one)

Obstacles: Road/alley closed Overgrown brush in alley

Garbage hidden by bush/garage/fence

Vehicle parked in the way of the garbage

Other _____________________________________________

N/A (circle one)

Elderly/Handicap Special Assist Pickup: YES NO (circle one)

Route Problem: Alley on a side load route House in a commercial zone

Customer does not have access to the alley

Other _________________________________________

N/A (circle one)

Comments _____________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Data Collection Sheet

Six Sigma Project:Improving Customer Service by Reducing Misses

Data Collection Sheet

Information to be provided by Mike Welch:

Route Number ____________ (Rte. Number 1 – 18)

Driver Name ___________________________________

Helper Name ____________________________________

Driver Training YES NO (circle one)

Helper Training YES NO (circle one)

Driver Experience with National Serv-all _________________ yrs. ____________________ mos.

_________________ days, if not more than one month

Helper Experience with National Serv-all __________________ yrs. ____________________ mos.

_____________________ days, if not more than one month

Driver Knowledge of Route/ How long has driver been on the route? ____________________ yrs

____________________ mos

____________________ days, if less than one month

Data Collection Sheet

22 17 14 12 10

29.3 22.7 18.7 16.0 13.3

29.3 52.0 70.7 86.7 100.0

0

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Defect

CountPercent

Cum %

Per

cent

Cou

nt

Pareto Chart for Day

Pareto Chart-Day

42 14 9 8 2

56.0 18.7 12.0 10.7 2.7

56.0 74.7 86.7 97.3 100.0

0

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Defect

CountPercent

Cum %

Per

cent

Cou

nt

Pareto Chart for Env

Pareto Chart-Environment

0 100 200 300

D know

Dotplot for D know

Dotplot for D Know

10 9 8 7 7 4 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 3

13 12 11 9 9 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 1 4

13 25 36 45 55 60 64 68 72 76 79 81 84 87 89 92 95 96 100

0

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Defect

CountPercent

Cum %

Per

cent

Cou

nt

Pareto Chart for Driver

Pareto Chart-Driver

21 7 4 3 2 2

53.8 17.9 10.3 7.7 5.1 5.1

53.8 71.8 82.1 89.7 94.9 100.0

0

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30

40

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40

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Defect

CountPercent

Cum %

Per

cent

Cou

nt

Pareto Chart for Helper

Pareto Chart-Helper

48 25 264.0 33.3 2.7

64.0 97.3 100.0

0

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Defect

CountPercent

Cum %

Per

cent

Cou

nt

Pareto Chart for A/C

Pareto Chart-A/C

• Hurried Collectors• Worker Turnover• Fatigued Workers• Distractions/Daydreaming• Poor Attitude • Lack of Communication• Normal Equipment Failure• Wear-and-Tear on Trucks• Shortage of Labor• Lack of Time• Lack of Money• Inadequate Route Information

FMEA Results-Key Problems

• Training

• Safety Meetings

• VCR Report

• PM

Current Controls

• Improve Hiring Practices• Pay Hourly• Provide Additional Training• Launch Probation Period• Increase Route Supervision• Resend Drivers to Collect Misses• Update Maps• Increase Money for Training and PM• Shorten Routes• Provide Better Incentives

Improvement Ideas

1. Hurried Workers

2. Fatigued Workers

3. Worker Turnover

4. Lack of Communication

Key Problem Areas

• Current Controls– Balanced Routes– Teamwork Policy– Management Change– Increased Coaching– Provide Appropriate Tools– Reduced Worker Turnover

Key Problem-Hurried Workers

• Improvement Ideas– Reduce Route Size– Pay Hourly– Adjust Incentives– Provide More Training

• Current controls– Increased Employees– Improved PM– Changed Route Schedule

Key Problem-Fatigued Workers

• Improvement– Developed an 18 ton limit

on one-man routes– Increased Helpers– Decreased Route Size– Modified Pay Structure

• Current controls– Employee Appreciation Day– ask them for their input– show concern– communication of goals and

benefits– improve workplace environment– Employee of the Month and Year– Bonus check– better equipment maintenance– shorten workday– safety bonuses– shoe allowance– Christmas party– explain whole picture/more

communication

Key Problem-Worker Turnover• Improvement

– better pay– more benefits– more helpers– limit route size– continue to find

ways to show appreciation

• Current controls– keep the workers

informed– Hold Safety

Meetings– New Trainer– special assist

pickups on route sheet

– Improved dispatch

Key Problem- Lack of Communication

• Improvement– Add Frequent Misses to

Route Sheets– Schedule Weekly Staff

Meetings– Receive Employee

Feedback– really push the goals of the

company– Communicate Performance

Measures

Product: Garbage pickup Core Team: Dawn Ritchie, Matt Gratz, Angela Lewis, Mike Welch, Date (Orig): 4/7/02Key Contact: Dawn Ritchie Bob YoungPhone: 427-1345 Date (Rev): 4/12/02

Process Process Step Output Input Measurement Technique Sample SizeSample

FrequencyControl Method

Reaction Plan

Trash pickup Do work complaints mistake/errormonitor # of customer calls thru pmi, pcharts and bar charts all miss calls weekly

PMI by Customer Service Mgr; Pcharts and bar charts by SW Mgr

Re-evaulate training methods and hiring practices

Trash pickup Prep for work arrival at route equipment vcr report 20 trucks 2x/day

City Supervisor will visually inspect vcr forms

Send truck to garage for repair; write driver up for not filling out reports; eventual termination

Trash pickup Do work dissatisfaction staffing survey employee satisfaction 25 employees 4x/yearSurvey by Ops Mgr.

more training; more communication; correct the problem

Trash pickup Do work good pickup trainingDriver-trainer checklist; test new drivers all new hires

90-day probation peiod

Audits by trainer

more training; termination

ATTRIBUTE SIGMA CALCULATOR

Characteristic Under Study: Garbage Misses Sigma Shift 1.5DPO 0.001227

# of Units 3,330,028Opportunity For Defects / Unit 1Defects 4,085

DPU 0.001226716DPMO 1226.716412SIGMA (With Shift) 4.53

Attribute Sigma Calculator

• 94 misses per Week 4,888 misses/yr

• 50% Reduction 2,444 misses/yr

• Total Serv-all Savings $195,520/yr

• 5 Yr Contract Total Savings $977,600

Potential Savings

0 10 20 30 40 50

0

100

200

Sample Number

Sa

mp

le C

ou

nt

NP Chart f or Total mi by phase

11

1

1

1111

111 11

1

1

1 1

1

1 1

1

1

1

1

1

NP=46.5

UCL=66.95

LCL=26.05

1 2 3 4 5

5040302010Subgroup 0

200

100

0Indi

vidu

al V

alue

11

15

65 55

62 Mean=46.5

UCL=94.17

LCL=-1.168

1 2 3 4 5

100

50

0

Mov

ing

Ran

ge 1

R=17.92

UCL=58.56

LCL=0

1 2 3 4 5

I and MR Chart f or Total misses by phase

54321

200

100

0

phase

To

tal

mis

se

s

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

95% Confidence Intervals for Sigmas

Bartlett's Test

Test Statistic : 17.992

P-Value : 0.001

Levene's Test

Test Statistic : 1.608

P-Value : 0.188

Factor Levels

1

2

3

4

5

Test f or Equal Variances f or Total misses

Initial Capability

250200150100500

USLUSL

Process Capability Analysis for init cap

PPM Total

PPM > USL

PPM < LSL

PPM Total

PPM > USL

PPM < LSL

PPM Total

PPM > USL

PPM < LSL

Ppk

PPL

PPU

Pp

Cpm

Cpk

CPL

CPU

Cp

StDev (Overall)

StDev (Within)

Sample N

Mean

LSL

Target

USL

746348.01

746348.01

*

943303.06

943303.06

*

666666.67

666666.67

*

-0.22

*

-0.22

*

*

-0.53

*

-0.53

*

44.5757

18.6692

18

93.5556

*

*

64.0000

Exp. "Overall" PerformanceExp. "Within" PerformanceObserved PerformanceOverall Capability

Potential (Within) Capability

Process Data

Within

Overall

Initial Capability

120100806040200

USLUSL

Process Capability Analysis for cap

PPM Total

PPM > USL

PPM < LSL

PPM Total

PPM > USL

PPM < LSL

PPM Total

PPM > USL

PPM < LSL

Ppk

PPL

PPU

Pp

Cpm

Cpk

CPL

CPU

Cp

StDev (Overall)

StDev (Within)

Sample N

Mean

LSL

Target

USL

285999.54

285999.54

*

264741.17

264741.17

*

307692.31

307692.31

*

0.19

*

0.19

*

*

0.21

*

0.21

*

18.3082

16.4539

26

53.6538

*

*

64.0000

Exp. "Overall" PerformanceExp. "Within" PerformanceObserved PerformanceOverall Capability

Potential (Within) Capability

Process Data

Within

Overall

Final Capability

MeasureMeasure

AnalyzeAnalyze

ImproveImprove

ControlControl

ProjectDescription

ProcessMap

C & EMatrix

PreliminaryFMEA

MSA

InitialCapability Study

Multi-Vari

DOE (or other improvement)

ControlPlan

Hand OffTraining

Final Capability

Study

OwnerSign-Off

Final ProjectReport

Project Tracking-Garbage

• Control Charts: I-MR, N, P, C Charts• Chi Square• Proportions Tests• Pareto Charts• Moods Median• Test for Equal Variances• One-Way Anova• Dotplots• Boxplots• Histograms

Statistical Tools Used

• Reduced missed trash pickups by 50% over 12 months

• NSA will save $195,000/yr or $977,000/5-yr contract• Improved City and National Serv-all partnership• Improved City and National Serv-all communication• Improved customer service• City of Fort Wayne Partnership manual• Routes visually inspected daily• NSA hired a trainer

Achievements

• NSA improved training program• NSA updated driver-trainer checklist• Implemented a 90-day probation period for new hires• Drivers tested during training• NSA improved screening process for applicants• Reduced worker turnover• Hired additional workers• Offer driver relief pool• Hired helpers with CDL/Aid helpers to get CDL

Achievements

• Better preventative maintenance• Reduced route size• Teamwork policy• Less fatigued workers• Supervisor manual developed• Provided collectors with appropriate tools More

communication between management and workers• Improved workplace environment• Increased appreciation shown

Achievements

• Performance Measure Index (PMI)• Assistant City Supervisor• Audits• Added frequent misses to route sheets• Improved efficiency and organization of Dispatch

Office• Offered incentives for drivers to have less than 15

misses/team/wk• Duplicated route sheets for splitter routes• Increased citizen satisfied

Achievements

• Trainer Hired

• Reduced Employee Turnover

• Reduced Fatigued Workers

• Implemented Teamwork Policy

• Management Changes

• Improved Communication

Accomplishments

• Continue to monitor weekly garbage misses

• Meet with the NSA supervisor to resolve any unexpected problems

• Maintain a weekly goal of 1 miss per 1,000 households

What’s Next?

Average Number of Misses Per Week with 79,000 Households Serviced

187

11680

108

154 149 137102 89 80

0

50

100

150

200

Month

# of

Mis

ses

2006

Current Status (2006)